July 7, 2021
NHMC’s Comments to the Public Utilities Commission of California on Broadband Infrastructure Deployment and Supporting ISPs
In the Matter Of:
Order Instituting Rulemaking Regarding Broadband Infrastructure Deployment and to Support Service Providers in the State of California
“The Commission needs to employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. A mixed-method approach in urban and rural communities would help emphasize not only the seriousness of the situation, but also how persistent issues of digital redlining are all across the state. Speaking to community members should be a priority, as oftentimes these are the stories and voices that are left out of the conversation when making decisions that impact BIPOC, Latinx, and low-income communities in particular.
Quantitative data also proved to be a very powerful tool in all of the studies in question and should play a role in any investigation conducted by the Commission. Data provided from ISPs, analysis of digital infrastructure, and survey data all helped highlight that digital redlining was indeed occurring in communities that identified as low-income/ majority people of color. NHMC recommends that in an investigation of digital redlining in California, the Commission should overlap data on other racial disparities and historical events, including housing redlining, climate change (climate gentrification and migration), and poverty trends.”
